Eagles implode in loss to Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas — — For all his power and game-breaking ability, Philadelphia Eagles rookie running back Bryce Brown also has proved to have a fatal flaw in his brief assignment as a temporary replacement for injured starter LeSean McCoy.

He can't hold onto the football.

Brown on Sunday night lost a fumble that was returned for a 50-yard touchdown by Morris Claiborne, sealing a 38-33 win by the host Dallas Cowboys, assuring the Eagles (3-9) of only their third losing season in head coach Andy Reid's 14-year tenure.

"It's the game of football," Brown said. "I had it high and tight, like what we said all week, what we practiced all week, and whoever hit it, credit to them for getting a fist on the ball. It was a big play for them."

Reid suggested fatigue might have had something to do with Brown's latest lost fumble, which followed two the week before and one earlier in the season. Brown now has lost four fumbles on 75 carries.

The turnovers have spoiled an otherwise remarkable first two starts for Brown, whose 347 rushing yards over the last two weeks are an NFL high and good for second in franchise history by an Eagle in two straight games. Only Steve Van Buren's 379 yards in 1949 were higher.

"When you get tired, when you're in that fourth quarter and you've been grinding and you're tired, you've got to focus on that," Reid said. "He was trying to get every stinking yard he possible could."

Brown's fumble came with the Eagles losing by just four points and having already scored a season-high 27 against a stunned Dallas defense that seemed to have little answer for him and fellow rookie Nick Foles, making just his third career start at quarterback.

However, Foles' best game (22-for-34, 251 yards, 1 TD), which came with a huge assist from Brown (24 carries, 169 yards) was not good enough to win this see-saw affair, which the Eagles controlled for most of the first three quarters.

But the final result had much less to do with Brown's fumble than it did with the Eagles' consistent failure to play fundamentally sound pass defense against receivers who too often ran by themselves down the field.

Confusion reigned once again in the defensive backfield after intermission, as Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo completed all 10 of his passes.

The second half began with the Cowboys putting together an 80-yard touchdown drive to tie it, Romo hitting Dez Bryant for a 23-yard catch-and-run to the end zone. That score was set up three plays earlier by a 27-yard run by DeMarco Murray on third down.

The final play was a brilliantly tossed pass to Riley Cooper, who beat Brandon Carr in single coverage down the right sideline for a 15-yard reception.

A crucial replay challenge kept a touchdown drive going on the Cowboys' ensuing series, after Murray appeared to be stopped on fourth-and-inches at the Eagles' 39-yard line. The reversal followed an excruciatingly long review, and Romo helped make it pay off three plays later by hitting Miles Austin with a 27-yard scoring pass.

That also proved to be the turning point.

Even though the Eagles immediately responded with a field-goal drive to regain the lead, Alex Henery again making good from 43 yards to match his kick ending the first half, Dallas had solved the Eagles' porous defense, and charged back into the lead with an 86-yard touchdown drive in which it encountered no resistance.

The series was highlighted by a 43-yard bomb to Bryant and a 36-yarder to Jason Witten.

In the end, the Eagles secondary had been torched for 303 yards by Romo, who completed 22 of 27 attempts with no interceptions.

After the Cowboys' successful replay challenge, they scored two touchdowns on offense, followed by their defensive touchdown.

With under a minute remaining, Damaris Johnson returned a punt 98 yards for a touchdown, giving the Eagles a chance to tie it with a field goal had they followed with a two-point conversion.

They failed on that attempt when Foles overthrew Jason Avant and failed on the ensuing onside kick, allowing the Cowboys to run out the clock.

"I have to make a better throw," Foles said. "You all saw the [play]. I know you saw it. I have to put it on Jason. Jason did a good job with his route, but that was on me.

"... Losing is not fun. It is not a good feeling. But just to be out there competing with the guys, I feel like we have great coaches, a great group of guys, great owners. This is a great organization to play for. We have to keep working, keep grinding."

Earlier, Henery kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give the Eagles a 17-10 lead and some much-needed momentum going into the locker room.

Henery's kick finished off a masterful two-minute drill executed by Foles and answered a long touchdown drive by the Cowboys that had cut the Eagles' lead to four points with 41 seconds to go in the second quarter.